Listening to Dr. Michael Baden (Again)

A funny thing happened yesterday afternoon. Marieta and I were driving to an appointment. We listen to XM Radio and the “Dr. Radio Show,” which is a 24/7 medical call-in program broadcast live from NYU Langone. Instantly, I recognized the day’s special guest’s voice.

Hey….that’s Dr. Michael Baden!

It was really cool to hear Michael interviewed by another medical professional. It was even better that he was able to talk in some detail about medical cases he’s worked on, crimes, forensics, and especially many controversies — addressing everything from the latest Kennedy Assassination release of documents to the mysterious deaths of Gene Hackman and his wife. For those unaware, Dr. Baden is widely considered to be the top forensic pathologist in the United States. He served as the Chief Medical Examiner for the City of New York in the 1970s and has worked on way too many high-profile criminal cases and forensics to mention, remaining still active and very much in demand as an expert even into his 80s (correction, he’s 90!).

I took special interest in yesterday’s interview for obvious reasons. But what really stuck with me was a sudden realization.

Many, many times I’ve enjoyed Dr. Baden’s company. We’ve dined together in New York, in Las Vegas, and I even got invited to the big coroners’ conference to hear him speak about unsolved cases (fascinating!). However, my favorite experience with him was the hot summer day a few years ago when just the two of us drove from Las Vegas up to Mt. Charleston. We hung out for many hours. Recognizing the good fortune of being able to talk one-on-one with one of the most interesting people in America, fortunately, I recorded our entire conversation, which lasted many hours (he agreed to this). Later on, when I went back and listened to our conversation I realized just how completely out of my league I was in such an interview, and especially the subject matter. I had no training or knowledge or expertise in his field, so the questions I asked were often rudimentary–even more embarrassing than I care to admit.

But what struck me most was how Dr. Baden politely and artfully went along with our conversation. He’s been interviewed hundreds of times, so my questions must have seemed borderline annoying to him. Yet, he never made me feel small or dumb. In fact, Dr. Baden opened up about many famous cases, giving me a subsets of sidebar training wheels as we went along, particularly on some of the more technical aspects of crimes he’s investigated. All I could say afterward (and repeat now) is recognizing how lucky I was to be given that gift of time and knowledge. This isn’t false modesty. Dr. Baden may be known best for his work in medical science and solving the most shocking crimes of our lifetime. But his communication skills and the natural ability to connect with people, no matter who they are or what they know (or how little they know), is what has impressed me the most.

Those memories all came to me after I heard Dr. Baden again yesterday, on that occasion being interviewed by someone who was far more capable.

Here are few photos that were taken on that trip up to Mt. Charleston, and also a dinner years ago at Keens Steakhouse in NYC.